Goal 3: Foster Mastery of the Material
Mastery of the material means...
- knowing facts and concepts within a specific subject area
- having command of the thought processes that underlie working within a specific subject area
- being able to think critically about topics within a specific subject area
Tutors foster mastery by creating a tutoring environment that is based on active learning.
A Tutor has asked a Student a question about the material, and the Student answered the question. Then...
- Tutor:
- How confident are you in that answer?
- Student:
- Pretty Confident.
- Tutor:
- Good. Show me how you arrived at the answer.
In this situation the Tutor fostered mastery of the material by...
- shifting the focus of the learning from the correctness of the answer to the process of learning. Had the Tutor only commented on whether the Student's answer were correct or incorrect, it would have made the learning situation an exam rather than a helping session.
- "focusing the spotlight" on the Student as an active learner. By asking about the level of confidence, the Tutor gave the Student the opportunity to experience the feeling of mastery. Furthermore, the Tutor demonstrated that the Tutor "sees" the Student as someone who can master the material.
- asking the Student to master not only the specifics but also the underlying thought processes.
